of tj)e i^omottucfe anb 
^onitntutife ^nbians 




^vttnfitiXf 






) 



PKICE, 10 CE,NTS 




"TIIKY \V\SI>; I > — A\ — I.IKI. Al'UII, SNf>W 
IN TDK WAHM NOOX, WK SHUINK AWAV. 

AND FAST THKY FOLLOW AS WE CO 
TOWARDS THK SKTTINC; DAV 

TILL THEY SHALL FILL THK LAND. AND WE 
ARE DHIVEN INTO THK WESTERN SEA." 



Through the Old-time Haunts 

of the Norwottuck and 

Pocumtuck Indian^ 




B 



Frances J. White 



SPRINGFIELD: MASSACHUSETTS 
NINETEEN HUNDRED b" THREE 



THE LIBRARY OF 
CONURESS, 

Two Cople» Received 

JUL 9 1903 

CopyiiK'^t tntty 

CLASS ^ XXc. No. 

is "l- T- O ^ 
COPY B. 



Copyright b v 

Frances J . White 

I 9 o ,1 



Printed by 

Thk F. a. Bassf.tte Comi'Any 

Springfield, Mass. 



INTRODUCTORY 




HE Greenfield, Deerfield and Northampton 
trolley route penetrates a region of matchless 
natural beauty and great historic interest, which 
it is the object of this pamphlet merely to hint 
at, and the detailed recital of which has filled 
volumes. The facts cited are from the histories of ] . R. Trum- 
bull, Hon. George Sheldon, Sylvester Judd and others, whose 
pages I have read to my great pleasure and profit. 

If the following pages shall be instrumental in creating 
an added appreciation of the beauties of the Connecticut and 
Deerfield vallej^s the purpose of the writer will have been 
fulfilled. 

F. ]. W. 




BIRDSEYE VIEW OF NORTHAMPTON 



N O R T H A M P T O N 




HE eyes of the pioneers in Northampton rested 
;^i>i*^? upon far different scenes than those that greet 
?\\:V|/ our eyes today. "The imagination pictures 
-^'>-\'^ them," savs T. R. Trumbull, "on a mild day 
^^_^^>s ^s^rly ii^ the month of Ma}^, halting wearily upon 
'Meeting House Hill.' Calm and peaceful stretch 
the wide expanding meadows, already smiling under the 
kindly influence of the genial season. The two mountains, 
clothed to their summits with green, are seen through the 
intervening forests as the setting sun illumes their wooded 
heights. Upward curls the smoke of the Indian wigwains, 
and dimly between the trees are seen glimpses of their dusky 
owners, watching the newcomers with eager interest." 

The Norwottucks. whose possessions extended from the 
"Great Falls" at South Hadley to Mt. Sugar Loaf, parted 



S^omc ptctttrcsquf ^rrnrci of 



willingly with their lands and. reservint,^ the right to fish, hunt 
and raise corn, dwelt with the new proprietors upon the most 
amicable terms. For twenty years the settlers were unmo- 
lested. They built their log houses, erected a "house for ye 
towne," settled a minister, made permanent provision for 
public schools and progressed and prospered generally. 

Then came King Philip's War; sweeping over the whole 
of Western Massachusetts and leaving death and devasta- 
tion in its wake. "The River Indians" made common cause 
with Philip and lurked in every available hiding-place, ready 
to pounce upon any who exposed themselves. The years of 
1675-6 were years of dreary outlook to the dwellers along 
the "Great River"; but with the death of Philip came relief 
from the depredations of the Xew England savages, although 
the colonists experienced no feeling of real security until the 
final declaration of peace between England and France. 

During the first hundred years Northampton remained 
a frontier settlement; but with the birth of the "Hampshire 
Gazette" in 1786 she woke to a realization of her possibilities 
and thereafter made steady progress toward the cultured 
refinement which she enjovs today. In 1792 came the Post- 
office with its weekly mail, carried on horseback. A year 
later a stage route was established to Boston, and shortly after- 
wards was extended west to Albany. There was also estab- 
lished, about this time, a paper mill, a book store and a job 
printing office. 

In this age of railroads, trolley lines, automobiles, and 
projected air-ships it is hard to realize the difficulties under 
which our fathers travelled. When William Clarke removed 
from Dorchester to Northam])ton, his good wife "rode with 
panniers slung across her horse's back; in each ])annier was 
packed a boy, and a third was carried on her laj)" ; the husband 
and father "walked before." When Rev. John Hooker, the 
third minister, married a Miss Worthington of Springfield, 




COl'YKIl.H lEl) eN|m 1:V »\ . A. 



^omr picturrsquf Scenes of 



she journeved to her new home, accurdini^; to the etiquette of 
the time, on a pillion behind one of her husband's deacons. 
Today, our Unictn Station is the converging point of three 
railway systems, and the trolley tracks at the junction of 
Main, State. Kim and South Streets, constitute an clcctro- 
plcxus, whose ganglia radiate in all directions; bringing the 
remote " Hill Towns " into easy and vital communication with 
the educational, social and business stronghold of the count\- 
— the "Shire Town"; making it possible for the jaded indo(jr 
workers of the citv to obtain a glimpse of this beautiful world 
as the Creator made it, and thus working incalculable benefit 
to all. 

In the earlv davs the savages far outnumbered the white 
men. Todav the only red men in the vicinity are the Cai)a- 
wonke tribe and the scattering wooden Indians which serve 
to call attention to the tobacco stores. 

In the earlv days mails were infrequent and news])a])ers 
were not considered mailable matter. Today a newsi)aj)er 
may be sent anvwhere in the United States for one cent and the 
local postoffice receives sixty-one mails daily, disjiatches a like 
number, and its gross receipts amovnit to 83.^.000 yearly. 

In the early days educational approi)riati(ms were in 
favor of bovs only. Girls were excluded from the ])ublic schools. 
But in the latter part of the eighteenth century a teacher in 
South Street, one Xathaniel Ivdwards, having been shown of 
God that the term, children, included both sexes, devoted his 
leisure hours to the instruction of girls. Today the co-educa- 
tional public school system, the Cai)en Classical School for 
Girls, and "Fair Smith," smiling from her gentle eminence 
upon the bustling business section of the city, continually 
demonstrate the truth that the feminine brain (.'([uals the mas- 
culine in quality if not in actual weight. 

It would be a work of pleasure to give a detailed account 
of the beauties, industries and institutions of modem North- 



©lUtimc iJnUian ll)aunt6 




PARADISE 




CORNER KING ANO MAIN STREETS, NORTHAMPTON 



§"omr pirttirrcqiir ^^rcnrc of 




am])t()n ; tutfllol" hcrlovc- 
Iv streets, and tasteful resi- 
dences; of gifts bestowed 
by loyal and generovis 
sons and daughters; of 
the famous persons who 
have visited and praised 
her; to " Tarry-a- while" 
at the home of the founder 
of the Home Culture 
("lubs: to tell you that 
the cjld Ccjllege Bookstore 
has occu])ied its present 
site since 1790 and that 
the present ])ro])rietor, 
Mr. S. K. Bridgman. has 
been there nearly sixty 
years; to relate how the 
gallery of the "Second 
Church," filled with worshippers, fell one Sunday morning 
during the pastorate of Jonathan I-3dwards; to give the par- 
ticulars of his dismissal from Xorthamjiton and <iuote from 
that soul-shriveling sermon: "Sinners in the Hands of an 
Angrv Cioil." l>ut all 
this, and much more. - ''■"''-■'■■-' 

has been written by far 
more facile pens and 
fascinating though the 
svibject is, we must turn 
(!)ur attention elsewhere. 
' Leaving the region 
of Paradise behind us we 
see on the right, as we 

take seats in the Hadley- homestead of Jonathan eowards, king street 



KING STREET: EDWARDS ELM 




©IB time ^ntjian haunts 




Amherst car, the commo- 
dious Academy of Music , 
the scene of the annual 
presentation of the " Sen- 
ior Dramatics." On the 
left is the Edwards Con- 
gregational Church. On 
the right as we pass along 
the main street are Me- 
morial Hall, Unitarian 
Church and City Hall, all 
in a row; just below, on 
the left, is "Boyden's," 
dear to the memory of 
every graduate of Smith. 
The First Church is the 
fovu'th stately daughter of 
that little "house for ye 
towne, of sawen timber, 
26 foot by 18 foot," with 
thatched roof, two win- 
dows and no pews or 
stove. The land on which 
the Court House stands 

was given to the town in 1767 by "fifty-six generous persons" 
for a Court House and Common, "and for no other purpose 
whatever." On the right, as we turn into King Street, is 
the First National Bank, and two doors below, on Main Street, 
IS Smith Charities Building. Proceeding along King Street 
we pass, on the right, the site of the Jonathan Edwards 
Homestead. The large elm was planted by him, and many 
good people point out a certain limb as having been a favorite 
seat of his ; needless to say, however, that he would hardly 
have endangered the life of the tree at that early stage of its 
trrowth bv sitting in it. 



'4 



^'omc puturreiqitr §rrnr6 of 




TROLLEY BRIDGE 



Xow, around Uir Armorx- corner, under the railwav 
tracks, and up Xorth Street, i)ast the cemetery, in use since 
1661, across the bridjj^e, 1288 feet in leni,^th and the lon.ijest 
structure of the kind in the world to be used for exclusive 
trolley service, another mile over the State Road and we cross 
the old Front Street of ' 

H A D L E Y 



\ LM( )S'r as old as Xorthanipton, Hadley was, durinj^ the 
Indian disturbances, the niilitar\- center of Hamjishire 
County. Many stirrin,^ scenes have been enacted in this, its 
original "Town Street." General Burgoyne once s])ent a night 
here and. on his de])arture, ])resented his sword and tent to his 
host as a token of a])])reciation. All the militia in the County, 
numbering 10.000 men. were once ordered to i)arade here bv 



©Ilj=timc 2^ntJtan bauntEi 



General libenezer Mattoon. General |ose])h Hooker was born 
at the north end of the street. He was known, during the civil 
war, as "Fighting Joe Hooker," and was called the handsom- 
est man in the army. His birthplace was standing in 1895, 
but was burned a few years later. Slavery existed here, as 
in most of the other towns in the vallev. In i 753 Rev. Chester 
Williams willed to his wife; "my negro woman, Phillis, my 
sheep and my cows," and Phillis was appraised at ;(^4o along 
with the cattle. The Elmwood House, corner of Academy 
Lane, stands on the original home lot of Parson Russell, in 
whose house the Regicides were concealed. Hopkins Acad- 
emy, at the upper end of the Lane, was founded by Edward 
Hopkins, Esq., and was the first institution devoted to class- 
ical learning within the limits of Hamjjshire County. Opposite 
the Academy, on Middle Street, is the First Church and the 
Town Hall. 




RUSSELL CHURCH AND ELMWOOD HOUSE, HADLEY 



I 6 



^-omc pirtiirreqttr §»rcnrB of 



Rf^^S?! 


St^vi^VJJk 


■k. 




M^n 


njr^^ 


^ 


tt .^^n 


^^^^m 




■ 'tifeS 


BS* 


limil 


Hid 


' 41 


^^MK^^^^f- 





10PKINS ACADEMY, 



liverybody knows 
the legend of the 
"Ans^'el of Hadley;" 
the i^atherinti: of the 
Iieo])le in the church, 
the cry of. "Indians!'' 
the confusion, and 
the sudden api:)ear- 
ance of "' a man of 
coniinandin.i^ mein, 
whom none of us had 
ever seen before." the 
rout of the " salv- 
ages," and the mysterious disappearance of their deliverer. 
It is an interesting story, and well within the limit of proba- 
bility. 1. Fennimore Coojjer has written around the incident 
that romantic tale " The We])t-of-Wish-ton-\Vish." Sir Walter 
Scott has i^ut the story into the mouth of " Major Bridge- 
north" in ''I'everil oi the Peak," although he gives the credit 
of the act to Whalley, rather than Goffe. But the historians 
differ in their opinions as to its 
authenticity. Some give it cred- 
ence; others pronounce it a myth; 
still others favor it scmiewhat but 
"do not know." Whether it realh" 
occurred or not, however, we max- 
well believe that, had occasion de- 
manded, the brave GoftV would have 
proved fully equal to the deed at- 
tributed to him. 

But our broomstick coach has 
borne us swiftly along until we 
find ourselves about to enter that 
temple of learning, the town of first church, hadley 




©Iti-time 3fnDian foaunts 




ERST COLLEGE 



AMHERST 



A MHERST was ori,y;inal]v the Third precinct of Hadley and 
was a settlement in 1731, a district in 1759 and a town in 
1776. It was probably named for General Jeffery Amherst, an 
English officer. Amherst Academy, established in 18 14, was the 
nucleus of the present Amherst College which crowns the rise 
at the southerly end of the street. It was co-educational dur- 
ing the first years of its existence and received at one time 
as a pupil, Mary Lyon, the founder of Mt. Holyoke College. The 
first college catalogue was issued in March, 1822, and the first 
commencement exercises were held in August of the same year ; 
the graduating class ntunbered two. The Amherst students 
of today go about, as did the aboriginal dwellers, with no 
head covering save that provided by nature. Doubtless they 
resemble them also in that they occasionally don their war 
paint and take the trail for "Hamp," in search of scalps and 



iS 



§omr ptrturrtsqtir §"rrnco; of 



jjlunilui". Amherst has been the abidinLj-place ul many illus- 
trious i)eople. Xoah Webster, the ejreat lexicographer, lived 
here for ten years and was one of the founders of the College. 
Helen Hunt Jackson was born here; Henry Ward Beecher 
prepared for college at Mt. Pleasant Institute; Eugene Field 
went to school here as a boy; and so we might proceed 
indefinitely, but we make close connections here and are soon 
whizzing along through the extensive grounds of the State 
Agricultural College, along the pretty street of North Amherst 
and at last, after a sharp turn around the shoulder of a sand 
bluff we swing into the broad street of that typical New Eng- 
land farming village, with its white church, fine new library. 
trim, thrifty-looking homesteads and fertile, well-tilled bottom 
lands, known to the early settlers as Swampfield, but later 
christened 








AMHERST COMMC 



(J^lii time 3'nUian hatmte; 



'9 




SUNDERLAND STREET 



SUNDERLAND 

"X^ZHICH lies on the easterlvbank of the Connectieut River, 
facint^ Va. Sut^ar Loaf. The energies of the residents are 
directed largely to the cultivation of the soil, and the chief 
" money products'" are onions and tobacco. The farmers also do 
a Kicrative cream business, receiving some months as manv as 
$4,000 for their output. We may, if we choose, walk d<iwn 
Bridge Street, cross to South Deerfield and reach the tracks 
of the Greenfield, Deerfield and Northampton line; but let 
us make that the object of another trip; to include a visit to 
Mt. Toby and Sunderland cave, and returning to Xorthamjiton 
the way we came, connect at the Armory with the car for Hat- 
field and the north. 

Just at first the view is tame and uninteresting, but the 
blue line of the hills peeping over the tops of the freight cars 
give promise of the exquisite beauty of the ])icture that greets 



^omr ptcturfeqiif §rrnrB of 




our eyes as we gain the 
higher ground near the 
stone crusher. Here the 
river makes that wide 
detour known as the 
"horseshoe bend;" east- 
ward are the twin spires 
of sleepy old Hadleyand, 
still eastward, sits stu- 
dious Amherst on her 
gently sloping hill. < )n 
the left we approach 
Laurel Park, connected 
by a spur-track with the main trollev line. This pleasing spot is 
the home of the Methodist Cam])-meeting Association and the 
Connecticut \''alley Chautauqua Assembly. Still onward, 
hemmed in by ubiquitous tobacco barns but never losing sight 
of the distant hills, and we have reached the staid old town of 



SUNDERLAND BRIDGE AND MT. SUGAR LOAF 




ANOTHER VIEW OF SUNDERLAND BRIDGE AND MT. SUGAR LOAF 



©lU time iJnUian IbauntB 




HATFIELD STREET 



HATFIELD 

"\X ^E shall have time for only a fleeting glance as we spin 
along the two miles of street. The first mile runs almost 
directly north and south. The houses wear a venerable look 
but none seem to have attained great age save one, which 
stands back from the street, on the left. Notice the quaint 
" high-boy" scroll above the door. There are three similar door- 
ways on the street but none so old, I think. A turn to the left, 
and we face the second mile, running east and west. In this 
street lived, and died, Sophia Smith ; just behind the church 
she lies buried. The older inhabitants still speak of her as 
"Miss Sophv." She was born in the long, low-browed house 
on the right, and built the square aggressive one beside it after 
the death of her brother Austin; when she "came into her 



§'omr pirturrsqur ^rrnre of 



money." In the middle of the street, near her two homes, 
formerly stood the old church, and the schoolhouse — which she 
never attended. In the little brick Town Hall are a number of 
interestin.ii; relics, includin.tj a check drawn by George Washint^- 
ton and dated, Mt. Vernon, June 12, 1798. Across the river, 
in .Xorth Iladley, may be seen the fine old residence of Bishop 
Huntington, and beyond rises Mt. Warner, which constitutes 
a part of the Huntington estate. We meet the south-bound car 
at the end of the street; then away again, leaving Xorth Hat- 
field on our left. Turning for another glance at the hills we 
see at the very to]) the white church at Shutesbury, literally 
nearer heaven than any point in sight. 

As we near the end of the tree-lined avenue which d(jubt- 
less gives the lonely looking hostelry on ovir left its name, Mt. 
Sugar Loaf suddenly confronts us as if to demand the pass- 
word to the charmed valley whose entrance he guards. We 
whisper "Wequamps;"* and he majestically retires, leaving us 
free to continue our wav into 



SOUTH D E E R F I E L I) 

"\^7'I1K"II is included in the t(jwnship of Old Decrfield. and 
may be called the commercial end of that historic village. 
The exertion of a climb to the top of Sugar Loaf will be well 
repaid by the magnificent sweep of country spread out before 
us. Just across the bridge, where the valley narrows to squeeze 
between the motmtain and river, lies Sunderland. On the 
right we may look down u])on the streets of South Deerfield. 
Southward the varied green of the meadows, cleft by the 
placid-flowing Connecticut, dotted with villages and isolated 
farmhouses, and, in the far distance, the serrated skyline of 
the Holyoke range make a scene of unparalleled beauty. " It 

* I'lic liiiliaii Maine uf tlie iiioiiiitiiin. 



011] tunc ijniiian linunte 




SOPHIA ;i 

Died Jiixte 12, iSv^L 

|SJv€±oxi.nd.ed Smith Collegsi inx^ortTmnjptor 
I andSmitli'Acad-emy i n Hatfield . 

tJxott. e%cxiLt;^t tl^erix aV. '' o.. . >ri 



iiii 



i 




THE TWO RESIDENCES OF SOPHIA SMITH, HATFIELD 



24 



§<omc |]irturc6q«f §*rrnr6 of 




is not excelled," said John Quincy 
Adams, ' ' by anything I have seen ; 
not excepting the Bay of Naples." 
Here came King Philip to 
reconnoiter; plotting, as he 
scanned the valley with eagle 
glance, to rid the land of the hated 
I)ale faces and restore it to its 
former owners. After all the dis- 
appearance of the Indian from 
his former haunts has its pathetic 
side. True, he was cruel and 
bloodthirsty; but the country had 
been his, and he saw it gradually 
.slipping away from him. He re- 
alized that the two races could 

KING PHILIP 

never live side by side and he took 
the only means he knew to rid himself of the incubus; the way 
of the tomahawk and the scalpingknife. His point of view 
differed, in all respects, from ours and we must remember 
that a man's point of view is an important factor to consider 
in judging his actions. 

Xow we come to the bvisiness center of the town, compris- 
ing the stores, postoffice and two hotels; the larger, rejoicing in 
the sanguinary title of "Bloody Brook House", stands directly 
on the corner. Farther up the street, on the left, is the building 
of the Arms Manufacturing Company, the oldest pocketbook 
manufactory in the United States. In the early days of the 
industry the finished product was transported to Hartford 
by ox teams and shipped thence to New York by boat. 

In front of the green house, on the right, is the slab which 
marks the grave of the victims in the Bloody Brook Massacre, 
1675. The monument in the little park marks the scene of the 
battle. The i)resence of so many soldiers at Hadlev had made 



©ID time 3fnUi<in I!)atinte; 



29 




BLOODY BROOK HOUSE, SOUTH DEERFIELD 




,]l?WEGGfc|aBBl!!(|^ 




ARMS MANUFACTURING CO., SOUTH DEERFIELD 



^oinr IJicturccquc ;§ccnf6 of 



serious inroads on their sujjplics, and winter was rapidly 
approaching. At Deerfield were 3,000 bushels of grain partly 
threshed and in danger of destructicjn at the hands of Philip's 
savage hordes. 

"Who will go to Deerfield meadows and bring the ripened grain ?" 
Said old Mosley to his men in array. 

"Take the wagons and the horses and bring it baek again, 
But be sure that no man stray 
.\11 the (lay In* tlie wav." 

Then the flower of Essex started, with Lathrop at their head. 

Wise and brave, bold and true. 
He had fought the Pequots long ago, and now to .Mosley said, 
"Be there many, be there few, 
I will IjHnt; the grain to you." 



The wagons have all forded the brook as it flows. 

And then the rear guard staj's 
To pick the purple grapes that are hanging from the boughs, 

When crack! — -to their amaze — 

A hundred firelocks blaze! 



And Phili]) and his de\ils pour in their shot so fast 

From behind and before, 
That man after man is shot down and breathes his last; 

Every man lies dead in his gore 

To fight no more, — no more. 

Oh, weeji, ye maids of Esse.x, for the lads who ha\e died — 

The flower of Essex they ! 
The Bloody Brook still ripples by the black mounlain-side. 
But never shall they come to see the ocean-tide, 
And never shall the bridegroom return to his bride 

I'rom that dark and cnirl day, — cruel day I 

— lidivard Everett Hale. 



©Ill tunc ijnliian ftaunts 



27 



The next point on our rovite is the hamlet of Wapping. 
Here we get our first glimpse of the Deerfield Arts and Crafts 
Society. In the unpainted house on the left, the last be- 
fore we enter the meadow, lives Mr. Caleb Allen, weaver of 
rugs and carver of furniture, principally the old colonial 
"brides' chests." The rugs are woven just as the rag carpets 




MONUMENT, SOUTH DEERFIELD 



of our grandmothers were. The rags are prepared for weav- 
ing by residents of Deerfield and five looms are in oi:)eration, 
two being owned by Mr. Allen. Besides the heavy tloor rugs, 
lighter ones of silk are woven for table covers. 

A mile through "vale and swelling upland," with every 
now and again a glint of the river, and we emerge, at the 
village smithy, into the "Old Street" of 



28 §<omf JJitturrequc Irenes of 

DEER FIELD 

T J-rr us alight here and walk about for an hour. At the 
'^^^ very end of the street, on the rij^^ht, is the ori.<,nnal home-lot 
of the founder of the Arms family in America. The second house 
on the left is the suinmer home of Aut::ustus \'incent Tack. 
The house with the carved doorway and the box -bordered 
flower garden in front was the residence of the late J. Wells 
Chamjjney. The door was brought by Mr. Champney from Xew 
York and was once the entrance to the house of Alexander 
Hamilton. We pause to read the inscri])tion on the Jonathan 
Wells tablet, then turn into Depot Lane and ])roceed to Memo- 
rial Hall, the headquarters of the " Pocumtuck Valley Memo- 
rial Association." The room on the right is devoted to Indian 
relics. Here is the battered door of the "Old Indian House," 
On the floor beside it is a carved chest which survival the 
massacre and ccmHagration of 1704. We lift the lid and are 
reminded of the legend of Lord Lovell's bride; for inside re- 
poses the skeleton of an Indian. On the wall hangs a fine por- 
trait of the presiding genius of the town, Hon. George Sheldon, 
painted by Mr. Tack. The building contains an exhaustive and 
interesting collection of Indian and Colonial relics. Returning 
to the Old Street we notice a house on the right bearing on its 
chimney the date 1698. This is the old " Frary House," also 
called the "Old Tavern." Aaron Burr is said to have spent a 
night under its roof; George Washington's commissary wagon 
also stojjped here when foraging the country for su])])lies. The 
white hovise beside it, next the church, is the " Miller House," 
headquarters of the Hlue-and-White Xeedle Work Society, 
which " Has, as its aim, the revival of the linen embroidery 
of the last century." It rejiroduces the old designs, i^reserved 
as family heir looms, "keeping as close as possible to the 
spirit of the colonial needle-women, even to the colors hand- 
dyed in indigo, and fustic and madder d\-ei")Ots." The road 



©lU time S^ntiian ibaonte 



29 




§"01110 picturcequc ^rrnrs of 




iOR I AL Hi 



Icadiiit^ to the Jell along 
the edge of the common 
was the old road to 
Albany. The house 
which stands behind 
the Academy, as we 
shall see by the tablet, 
was built for the " Re- 
ileemed Captive" in 
1707. Over the door is 
the "high-b(jy'' scroll 
and on the lower panel 
is the "witches cross." 
Here are the headquarters of the Palm-leaf Basket department 
of the D. A. C. S. This work is a revival of the old hat-braiding 
industry and is carried on by a few of the older women, who 
formerly braided hats. The sovith side of the hcnise contains a 
secret staircase; built, ])robably. to facilitate escape in the 
event of an Indian assault. ( )n the left we pass the "Little 
Brown House on the Albany Road," whose story has been told 
so interestingly bv Mr Sheldon. Just before the road dro])s to 
the meadow, we come to the old 
cemetery. Here lie the remains 
<jf ICnsign and Hannah Sheldon; 
John and l-.unice Williams and 
their children; and here is the 
mound which marks the grave of 
those who were killed in the 
massacre of 1704. The oldest 
stone bears the date i6g5. The 
latest will be dated i qo,3, for here, 
overlooking the beautiful mead- 
ows which hi' loved so well, rests 
the bo(h' ol I. Wells ("haniimew george sheuoon 




©lU time iJnUian f)<iunt6 



V 



The common contains much to interest us. The Acad- 
emy occupies the site of John Williams' house which, with so 
many others, was burned in 1704. Here are the tablets that 
tell the story of Benoni Stebbins^and the Indian House ; here are 
the Soldiers' monument and the old Fort well. The church, 
built in 1824, was originally the home of the Congregation- 
alists: but. owing to a difference of opinion on some points of 




JLLER AND FRARY HOUSES 



doctrine, the conseryatiyes withdrew, leaying the Unitarians in 
possession of the church building. 

"The old Manse," opposite the chtirch, is one of the 
most interesting of the Deerfield houses. The wing was 
occupied in 1704 by Samuel Carter, whose family were "cap- 
tived." The main part was built by a wealthy Salem merchant 
and willed by him to his nephew, Joseph Barnard. Three daugh- 
ters of Joseph, " Xabby," " Rachel," and " Sally, " were married 
from the manse one Sunday morning in 1792. "all dressed in 



32 



^omf JJtcturfsqtic ^rrnro of 




JOHN WILLIAMS' HOUSE 



blue." Whether 
they also wore 
"something old, 
something new, and 
something bor- 
rowed," history fails 
to relate. During 
the residence there 
of Samuel Willard. 
the ' Founder of the 
Unitarian Move- 
ment in Western 
Massachusetts," he 

received as guests, Francis Parkman, Dr. Channing, Charles 

Sumner, Ralph Waldo Emerson and many other famous men. 

Mrs. Wynne, the present owner of the mansion, introduced 

the people to the " Raflfia Basket," which, as made in 

Deerfield, is the product of "hand and brain working in 

conjunction." They do not cop}' the Indian baskets but 

work out their own ideas in shape, color and design. 

But we must hasten, for our car is almost due. The large 

white house next the 

hotel is the home of 

Hon. George Sheldon . 

Opposite a tablet 

marks the site of the 

old Liberty-pole. 

Just above on the 

right live the Allen 

Sisters, whose artistic 

photogra])hic work is 

known far and near. 

Xear the end of the 

street is the Old 




UN ITARIAN 



©lU ttmr ijntiian I^aunte 



3 3 




OLD WILLARO 



Sheldon House built 
by " Ensign" Sheldon 
after 1704. We may 
read the story of the 
house on the tablet 
near. In the very 
last house on our left 
is made the ' 'netting' ' 
with which our fore- 
mothers delighted to 
adorn their "bed- 
testers," valances, 
etc. It is made with 
a shuttle, very much 

after the n^anner of tatting. The old-style tufted counter- 
panes are also made. Here on the "North Terrace" came 
the heroine of Mary E. Wilkin's story of the Deerfield 
Massacre, to call her lover, "David Walcott." Here she 
"strained her blue eyes toward Canada, held out her fair 
arm«:." and down across these meadows came David with 
the "white sheep's fleece on his back." 

Here we meet the 
car, which carries us 
along the edge of the 
meadow, past Pine 
Knoll, an old-time 
rendezvous of the 
Indians, through 
Cheapside where the 
river barges formerly 
disposed of their 
cargoes, across the 
;■ river and on, u]) the 

SHELDON HOUSE hll! mt<l 




34 



^omc picturcBquf ^ccncfi of 




GREENFIELD CO 



G R E P: N F I E L D 



T^I-II-^RFI l-^LI) and (jrccnfu'ld were closely identified in 
■^^^ the early days. The first home lots were laid out alonitj 
Green River in 1686, but not until 1753 did Greenfield 
become a town. 

"Meanwhile." says Mr. Herbert Parsons, "it had borne 
its share of the trials of the old town. Its few rude homes 
were the objects of attack. Its soil was traversed by the 
Indians bearinj^ from Deerfield the cajitives of 1 704. and 
received the blood of Eunice Williams, the wife of John Wil- 
liams, "the redeemed captive." 'i'he troojjs of Captain Turner 
marched across its territory to the famous sur|)rise of the 
Indian villaii;e near the falls now bearinij his name." 

When Franklin County came into existence in 181 2, 
Greenfield was invested with the dii^mity jiertainini^: to the 
"Countv Seat." The town is built on a hi.^h terrace at the 



©Itj time 3fn^«<in I!)aunt6 



.U 




.16 



^omc IJictiuffiqur ^^rcnrs of 



head ot the Dcciiield X'alley and presents a most attractive 
appearance with its broad, elm-shaded streets and fine resi- 
dences. It is reached from the outside world-at-large by the 
Boston (K: Maine system. Fitehburt^ and Connecticut River 
divisions, and is c(mnected by trolley vvith Turners Falls, 
Millers F'alls and Moritaii:ue, while the Greenfield, Deerfield 
and Northampton line extends southward to meet the S])rin^- 
field line. In manufactures mechanical hardware jiredom- 
inates, althous^di shoes, woodenware, silverware and jiocket- 
books are also manufactured. 

Greenfield maintains an excellent ]iuhlic school system 
under the su])erintendence of Mr. George II. Danforth. There 
is also the Prospect Hill school for t.^irls. which ranks well 
amon*::^ schools of its class. Green River, from which the town 
takes its name, is prosaic cnoui::h here; but back amoni^ the 
hills, in C'umminj^ton, its romantic beaut\' has ins])ire<l the 
muse of no less a ])oet than William Cullen Hr\-ant. 

Here, at the terminus of the trolle\' line, is the Mansion 
House, one of the best-known hotels in Western Massachu- 
setts, and we may procure an excellent dinner before taking 
passage on the Greenfield and Turners Falls line to 




MANSION HOUSE, GREENFIELD 



©IK time ^nUian flaunts 




MAIN STREET, TURNERS FALLS 



TITRNERS FALLS 

'TPHIC jjrimary factor in the development of the town of 
Turners Falls has been the Turners Falls Company, which 
furnishes water ])ower U) the various manufacturing concerns. 
Its origin dates back to 1792 when the "Proprietors of the 
Locks and Canals of the Connecticut" were incorporated. 
It was the dream of the Turners Falls Company to build 
a city greater than Holyoke, not only in the furnishing of 
applied power, but in the manufacture of paper. Next to 
Holyoke it is one of the greatest distributing points for paper, 
especially news printing paper, in America. The John Russell 
Manufacturing Company, the oldest cutlery establishment in 
the United States, has its plant here. There are, also, a num- 
ber of pa})er mills, a cotton mill and, just across the river, the 
Ttirners Falls Lumber Company. Each has had a share in 
])romoting the growth of the up-to-date town of the present. 
Today may be heard the puff of the locomotive; the hum 



3! 



^omc Jjicturffiqur Srfnrfi of 



of the tnjlk'V car; the whirr of the busy wheels of trade. 
But the Spirit of the Great River whis])er.s of far dift'erent 
sights and sounds. For here, on its banks, was fought the 
battle which meant the beginning of the end for King Philip. 
The Indians had gathered tcjr the spring fishing; a foraging 
])arty had just returned from Hatfield with a su])i)ly of stolen 
cattle. They had gorged themselves with meat and milk and 
had fallen into "swinish sleep." Thev woke to find C'aj)- 
tains Tvirner and Holyoke, with 150 men, in their very wig- 
wams! Frantically they took to the river, some in canoes, 
others swimming; Vjut the current was strong: the river wide; 
the aim of the white men sure: and before their allies in the 
camps below could come to the rescue three hundred Indians 
had begun the journey to the " Haj^py Hunting Grounds." 
The death of Ca])tain Turner is commemorated in "The beau- 
tiful falls which hears his name," 




TURN ERS F« 



©lU time 3FnIitan l)aunt6 



39 




3IRDSEYE VIEW OF MILLERS FALLS 



MILLERS FALLS 



IV /Tillers falls is, comparatively speaking, a newcomer 
"^ among the hills. Thirty years ago it boasted three 
houses and a hotel, which was a station on the old stage route 
between Boston and Albany. It was then known as "Grout's 
Corner." It is now a thriving manufacturing village, lining 
the sides and bottom of an immense natural bowl cut in two 
by Millers River, which frets along under the bridge like the 
chronic grumbler at a trolley turn-out. One might fancy the 
hillside residences to have been blown by the breath of Boreas 
from the neighboring mountain tops, with the injunction to 
catch-as-catch-can, for thev seem to be sticking in their heels 
to keep from sliding into the river. 

Of the two manufacturies. the Millers Falls C'ompanv 



40 



§>omf |3irturrBquc ^ccnce of 



is the older and has a wide rei)Utatii)n 
for fine hardware. The Millers Falls 
Manufacturing Company's product is 
pa])er. The village is on the main line 
of the Fitchburg railroad and is the 
terminus of the Millers Falls branch of 
the Greenfield and Turners Falls trolley 
line, which ])asses beautiful Lake Pleas- 
ant, the home of the New England 
Spiritualists Camp-meeting Association. 
But though the body is borne for- 
ward by the whizzing car, through new 
and varied scenes, the mind lingers in 
Deerfield. Still, in fancy, we wander 
through the rooms of Memorial Hall ; 
again we saunter down the old Albany 
road to the ancient cemetery and, 
entering, stand reverently beside the 
graves of John and Eunice Williams. 
Again we retrace our steps to the "Old Town Plot" ; and as we 
linger in the shade of the venerable elm, that has watched all 
from the beginning, the ]iresent fades from our ken. The air 
grows cold and piercing: snow covers all the country; daylight 




INDIAN HOUSE DOOR 



begins to fade; the stars wink in tht 

disa])])ear in the houses 

about us an<l, save the 

sentinel on his lonely 

watch, no soul is stirring. 

The night wears away; the 

sentinel, benumbed and 

somnolent, \-ields to his 

desire for rest. Hark! a 

slight cntiiLiiii!'^ sound 

comes over the north 



frost\" skv. The liijht^ 




(DlU ttmr 3fi^^t<in batinto 



4' 




4- §"omr ]Jtctiircfiqur ^rrncis of 

meadow. Peace, 'tis j^one. Aj^ain it comes, nearer than belore! 
What shapes are those! Xearer they come — they stealthily 
scale the palisades and distribute themselves among the hovises ! 
Still no sound. Xow the signal is given, and with whoops and 
yells that fall upon the cars of their startled victims like the 
crack "of doom, the scene of conflagration and carnage begins! 
John Williams seizes his gun and aims at the savages who have 
forced their way into his house; but it hangs fire and he is 
quickly made prisoner. The stout door of the Sheldon house 
stands fast, but the fiends are hacking it with all their might! 
Thicker and faster fall the blows of their tomahawks, and at 
last they make a small hole in the middle; a savage eye is 
applied to the opening; someone moves inside — a musket is 
thrust in — there is a shot! a shriek! and Hannah Sheldon is 
saved the horrors of that terrible journey to Canada. — And so 
the butchers,, white and red, rage through the doomed village, 
killing, burning, plundering, until at last, their thirst for blood 
sated, they turn their faces northward, taking with them one 
hundred and twelve captives; leaving behind forty-eight 
scalpless corpses. 

The details of the meadow fight, the killing of poor 
Eunice Williams and others, whose strength forsook them on 
the way, and the eventual redemption of many of the captives 
are matters of common knowledge. No history of Western 
Massachusetts since that day is complete which lacks the 
tragic story of the burning of Deerfield by the French and 
Indians, Feb. 29, 1704. But we can never know too much of 
the dangers and hardships incurred by our sturdy Puritan 
ancestors, nor can wc ever cease to be interested in the life 
stories of the brave men and women who 

" Cun(|uered wood and savage, frost and flame. 
And made us what wc arc." 




s s 



J r. _ 



O O 



a a a 



ADVERTISEMENTS 



THE H I G H K S T GRADE 



Electric Cars 

Car Trucks 

d?id Snow Plows 




Wason Manufacturing Co. 

RAILWAY CAR BUILDERS 

Springjieldj Mass, 



Established 184: 



Address 
Brightuood P. O., Mass. 



ADVERTISEMENTS 



William A. Clark Coal Co. 

NORTHAMPTON, MASS. 



COAL AT WHOLESALE 
VICTOR BITUMINOUS 
A SPECIALTY 




^»-lh»»«t«£ IttlVI OLD SOUTH STREET, OFF MAIN 

Jf%(l'l|(iV » A.llllt NORTHAMPTON, MASSACHUSETTS 

Modern Iniprovenu-nts; Fine Outlook; Beautiful (Jnuuuls; Exiclleiil Cuisine: Pschorr- 
Brau, Pilsner and Wurzburger, Hofbrau on draught. R. J. R.Vll.AR, l^roprictor 



ADVERTISEMENTS 



A. I.. Wll.I.lsrON, President 



F. N. KNKKLANI), Cashier 



The First National Bank 

OF NORTHAMPTON 



Capital, 5300,000 

Deposits, s8oo,ooo 

Surplus, 5 I 50,000 



Depositary of the U. S. Government and the State of Massachusetts 
Safe Deposit Boxes to Rent Cor. Main and King Streets 




MANSION HOUSE, Greenfield, Mass. 

AMKRICAN AND KIJROPKAX PLANS. Special allciiti.m lo the tahlc and service. 
I )inner parties solicited. W. K, WOOD, Proprietor 



ADVERTISEMENTS 



The First National Bank 

OF GREENFIELD 



Orgjnized 1S23 



Rcorgani-z-cd l86^ 



Capital $200,000 

Surplus and Profits IJO^OOO 



JOSEPH W. STEVENS, /'resident 



JOHN E. DONOVAN, Cashier 




i^lootii) lirooU iJLiouisr 



Special attention given to dinner 
parties and commercial trade 



South Deerfield, Mass. 
al.i. cars pass mv door 



JUL 9 1903 



ADVERTISEMENTS 



Monotuck Savings Bank 

25 Main Street, Room 8, Masonic Building 
NORTHAMPTON, MASS. 




Open daily except Sundays and Holidays trom 9 a.m. 

to _^ p.m. Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 12 m. 
Quarter Days, first Wednesday of March, June, 

September and December. 
Dividend Days, first Wednesday of June and 

December. 




Opposite the Court 
House in Northampton 
is the \v e 1 1 - k n o \v n 

ot 

Coburn 
& Graves 

whose reputation as 
dealers in the highest 
grade of goods extends 
up and down the valley 



Their Ice Cream Soda is excellent 
Agents for BAKER'S BOSTON CHOCOLATES and Fine Confections 



